Admissions

Selwyn and Portway Primary Schools are both Ofsted Outstanding schools, and are part of an academy - Leading Learning Trust. We are a public body, funded directly by the Department for Education, and we exist to advance education for the public benefit. We use our allocated funds to provide our students with rich learning opportunities and the right care, guidance and support to help every child reach their fullest potential. Due to the recent opening of our new Early Years facility at Selwyn in September, we are delighted to be able to offer our community a state of the art facility. At Portway, our provision was expanded a few years ago, enabling us to offer all year groups newly designed and refurbished facilities.

We currently have places available at both our schools, across all year groups. At Selwyn, we also have 32 resourced places for hearing impaired and deaf children in the Borough. We welcome all parents considering applying for a place for their child at one of our schools to arrange a visit by contacting the school office - details are available at the bottom of this webpage.

Determined admissions arrangements - for 2020 and 2021 entry

The Leading Learning Trust acts as the admissions authority for both Portway and Selwyn. Further to a recent Board review of Newham’s determined admissions arrangements (which comply with the Equality Act 2010), the Trust will, as previously, adopt these in full for all in year admissions in the academic year 2019/2020, and for entry into Reception in September 2020. This remains the case for admissions arrangements for the academic year 2020/21, and for entry into Reception in September 2021. Please note that any changes to our admissions arrangements will only be made further to a full, detailed consultation with all stakeholders. The measures that have been taken by Newham, which the Trust has adopted, to ensure legal compliance can be found here. A copy of the detailed arrangements for September 2021 entry is available here.

As of September 2019, we are delighted to be able parents of children in nursery and Reception a place in our brand new Early Years Centre (completed August 2019). Selwyn currently has the capacity to take 524 pupils from Nursery to Year 6 and is a fully inclusive school. There are different arrangements for children starting in our nursery, in our reception class and for starting during an academic year - all of which are detailed below. All links to the relevant webpages are provided in blue text below.

Nursery admissions - for September 2020 entry

From September 2017, the 15 hours free early education and childcare offering from the government, has been extended, subject to certain conditions, to an offering of 30 hours. Please see the Borough's Free Early Education and Childcare page for details. In order to apply for a Nursery place, you will need to register on the government's eAdmissions website.

We accept children’s names for the Nursery waiting list from their second birthday. We cannot guarantee you a place but we do try to offer all children at least three terms in the Nursery before entry into school. Where a place is offered, it will be a half day morning or afternoon session totalling 15 hours a week. Our main admission to the nursery will be in the September after a child’s 3rd birthday or, in the term after a child’s 3rd birthday if there are spaces available.

In the summer term before the children’s planned start in September, we will offer places using the Borough's criteria as outlined in the Admissions Arrangements document available to download on this page.

We are also delighted to be able to offer a small number of 30 hour free childcare places under the government scheme. Details of how to apply in Newham are available on the Newham website. Please contact the school office for further details. Finally, please note that there will be a small charge for this service to cover any lunch and snacks provided.

Should our nursery provision be over-subscribed, we offer children places using the same criteria agreed by our Trust Board to determine the allocation of school places.

Starting school for the first time – Reception class - for September 2020 entry

In Newham, any child whose 4th birthday falls between 1st September and 31st August will be entitled to start full time schooling in Reception at the beginning of the academic year. Parents may also be interested in the Borough’s Primary School Fact Finder, available via this link.

All admissions are now managed through the government's eAdmissions website. Should you already have an account further to your child's Nursery application, please use this; otherwise, you will need to login and set up an account. Please note that all applications must be received before national closing day which is the 15th January before the September that your child is due to start school.

We look forward to welcoming your child to our school in Reception in September 2020. Please note:

The closing date for applications is the 15 January 2020.

Families living in Newham must apply to the Borough for a school place; those currently living out of Borough must apply to their Local Authority, specifying that they will be moving to Newham.

Children currently attending our Nursery provision must apply via this process.

If your child has a sibling at our school, you must still make an application.

Please use the links in the ‘downloads’ section on the left of this page to find a suitable school in Newham for your child, and then to make an application via the eAdmissions link.

On national offer day, which is the 18th April every year, you will receive a letter from the Borough, in which you will be advised of the school at which your child has been offered a place. You will also be notified of your statutory right to appeal following the process detailed on the Borough’s School Admission Appeals pageif you are not offered your first preference.

Please note that if your child has a place at Selwyn nursery, you are not automatically guaranteed a place in Reception at Selwyn.

In year admissions in primary school

If your family arrives in Newham during the school year 2019/2020 and your child needs a school place, you must complete anonline in year admission form. Please note:

You may not be allocated your first preference if no places are available.

You will usually be allocated a place within 10 working days.

Infant to Junior School Transition in Newham

As is the case for all junior schools in Newham, we have a number of places for children transferring from Infant school - ie. starting year 3 in September 2020.

Please use the links in the ‘downloads’ section to find out more, and the eAdmissions link to make an application.

Year 6 transition - moving from primary to secondary school - for September 2020 transfer

As always, we will be sad to lose our year 6 children at the end of the summer - but share their excitement at the prospect of a new adventure, with new opportunities. We hope they will stay in touch!

At the beginning of year 6, a meeting is held for parents to offer guidance on the Secondary School application process. Parents can name up to 6 secondary schools from anywhere in England. Allocation of places is described in the Admissions Arrangements document available to download on this page.

A listing of all secondary schools in Newham, of all types, is available on this page of the Borough's website. Parents can also make use of the Borough's Secondary Schools Fact Finder - available here. The Borough’s Admission to Secondary School page provides details of how to manage your child's transition to secondary school. Further guidance is also provided to parents of year 6 children at Selwyn.

Please note:

The closing date for applications for year 7 entry in September 2020 is the 31 October 2019.

Families living in Newham must apply to the Borough for a school place; those currently living out of Borough must apply to their Local Authority, specifying that they will be moving to Newham.

If your child has a sibling at your preferred secondary school, OR if you live in the school’s ‘priority area’, you must still make an application.

We encourage parents and year 6 children to list at least six secondary schools on their application, one of which should be their local school.

Attending open days run by secondary schools in the Borough are a good way to find out more.

Please use the links in the ‘downloads’ section on the left of this page to find a suitable secondary school in Newham for your child, and then to make an application via the eAdmissions link.

Downloads

Selwyn is part of The Leading Learning Trust which is a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales with company number 10028278. The registered office is at Selwyn Primary School, Selwyn Road, London, E13 0ES.